UNIVERSITY OF OREGON BULLETIN 



New Series 



NOVEMBER, t906 



Vol. IV, No. I 



STATE SYSTEMS OF HIGH 
SCHOOL CONTROL 

HENRY DAVIDSON SHELDON 
Head Department of Education 

A STATISTICAL STUDY OF FOUR-YEAR 
HIGH SCHOOLS INOREGON 

GEORGE W. HUG 





NOVEMBER, 1906 



Published hi-monthly, and entered at the postoffice at Eugene, Oregon, as 
second class matter. 



^'i Uaivtr 



Bulletins of the University of Oregon 

New Series 



VOL. I 

1. General Announcements. November, 1903. Exhausted. 

2. Beowulf. Prof. I. M. Glen. January, 1904. 

3. Water Power on the McKenzie River. Prof. E. H. 
McAlister. March, 1904. Exhausted. 

4. Mineral Resources and Mineral Industries of Oregon. 
For 1903. Compiled by the Department of Chemistry. May. 
1904. 

5. Catalogue for 1903-1904. 

VOL. II 

1. Water Power on the Santiam. Prof. E. H. McAlister. 
November, 1904. ' 

2. Tendencies in Recent American Road Legislation. 
Prof. F. G. Young. January, 1905. 

3. General Register of the University of Oregon, 1873- 
1904. March, 1905. 

4. General Announcements for 1905-1906. Exhausted. 

5. Catalogue for 1904-1905. Exhausted. 

VOL. Ill 

1. State Normal School Systems of the United States. 
Prof. H. D. Sheldon. November, i905. 

2. Annual Report of the President of the University. Jan- 
uary, 1906. 

3. Some Botanical Notes from the Biological Laboratory. 
Prof. Albert R. Sweetser. March, 1906. 

A New Fossil Pinniped. Prof. Thomas Condon. Supple- 
ment to No. 3. May, 1906. 

4. Catalogue of the University of Oregon, 1905-1906. 
May, 1906. 

The University of Oregon Bulletin is issued bi-monthly 
during the University year, and will be sent free on application. 
Requests for Bulletins, or letters of inquiry concerning the Uni- 
versity, should be addressed to THE REGISTRAR. University 
of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. 



STATE SYSTEMS OF HIGH 
SCHOOL CONTROL 



HENRY DAVIDSON SHELDON 
Head Department of Education 



A STATISTICAL STUDY OF FOUR-YEAR 
HIGH SCHOOLS IN OREGON 



GEORGE W. HUG 



V 



STATE SYSTEMS OF HIGH SCHOOL CONTROL 

The early English settlers en the Atlantic seaboard brought 
with them, as a part of their heritage, the institution of secondary 
education, known at that time as the "grammar school." This 
is better designated today as a " Latin school," owing to the ap- 
plication of this old term to the upper grades of the common 
school. The course of study in this school was almost en- 
tirely confined to the Latin and Greek languages and literatures, 
with a slight element of mathematics. The school was essential- 
ly aristocratic in character, its aim being to prepare boys, usu- 
ally of the more well-to-do classes, for college and the professions. 
Latin schools, in the main, were supported by a public tax levied 
by the towns or counties. Regularly organized systems existed in 
four of the colonies — Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut and 
New Hampshire. If we can judge from the records, these Latin 
schools were never popular, and were sustained with increasing 
effort on the part of their promoters. Their inelastic curriculum 
was poorly adapted to the needs of a new, struggling community, 
and the sparsity of population prevented the concentration of pu- 
pils necessary to make municipal institutions a success. 

Consequently there arose, during the period of- the revolu- 
tionary war, a new type of school known as the " academy," 
which for many years provided most of the secondary education 
of the country. The academy differed from the " Latin school " 
in possessing a much wider and more elastic curriculum, includ- 
ing the sciences and English branches. It also depended for its 
initiative and control on private individuals or religious denomina- 
tions, rather than on the state or municipality. This fact did not 
prevent the state from granting large tracts of land and sums of 
money to the academies. Pennsylvania, New York, Massachu- 
setts and other states adopted schemes for chartering and subsi- 
dizing academies. At the outset, the academies were promoted 
as a protest against the classical formalism of the old " Latin 



schools " and the colleges, but later on they took the place of the 
"Latin schools" in preparing students for college. They were 
not closely connected with the common schools at any period of 
their existence, and, while popular in their origin, as time went 
on, the academies became more and more the schools for the 
upper, middle, or well-to-do classes, and flourished at the expense 
of the people's schools. 

From 1815 on, however, a more democratic ideal began to 
prevail in American society. Class barriers were obliterated and 
a strong demand for increased efficiency in the common schools 
arose. The public high school appeared as a phase of this com- 
mon school movement, many of the first high schools being re- 
garded as simply the upper portion of the elementary school. The 
first American high school was founded in B3Ston in 1821, but 
for many years the increase in the number of high schools was 
slow. In 1850 there were only forty public high schools in the 
country, and at the close of the civil war the great majority of 
the secondary pupils were in the academies. 

In the last generation a great change has taken place. Ow- 
ing to the increase in wealth, the greater concentration of popu- 
lation in cities and towns, and to the development of excellent 
systems of gradation for the smaller children, the number of pub- 
lic high schools and students has increased by leaps and bounds. 
In 1889-'90 there were 221,522 secondary students in public 
institutions, as against 145,481 in academies and other private 
institutions. In 1903-'04, the last year fcr which the commis- 
sioner of education has given us the statistics, the number of stu- 
dents in public institutions had increased almost three-fold, being 
652,804, while the number in private institutions had remained 
almost stationary, the exact figure being 169,431. At the pres- 
ent time (1904) there are 822,235 pupils in the secondary 
schools of the country, which is slightly more than one per cent, 
of -the population. This is a ratio larger, all facts considered, 
than that of any other great nation. An analysis of the following 
figures shows the varying fortunes of the private secondary insti- 
tutions in the different sections of the country. In the South, 
alone, are they able to maintain their hold, and even there the 
public high school leads in the number of students, the figures 



being 53,701 for private schools to 88,191 for the public insti- 
'tutions. 

The statistics for the other sections run as follows: East — 
New England and Middle States, 21 1,304 public, 51,477 private. 
West — Mississippi Valley, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast, 
353,309 public, 64,253 private. 

Along with this rapid growth in numbers, has gone a great 
change in the attitude of the public toward secondary education. 
It was formerly regarded as a luxury for the rich and well-to-do, 
and, therefore, an unjust burden on the public treasury. On this 
ground, several cases were carried into the courts. The most 
famous of these was the celebrated Kalamazoo case, in which 
the decision of the Michigan supreme court was prepared by the 
distinguished jurist, Thomas M. Cooley. Judge Cooley defined 
the attitude of the state of Michigan on the subject of public ele- 
mentary education in the following sentence: " We supposed it 
had always been understood in this state that education, not 
merely in the rudiments, but in an enlarged sense, was regarded 
as an important practical advantage to be supplied, at their op- 
tion, to rich and poor alike, and not as something pertaining 
merely to cultuie and accomplishment, to be brought as such 
within the reach of those whose accumulated wealth enabled them 
to pay for it." The court ruled' that a tax for high school pur- 
poses was constitutional, a decision concurred in by the state 
supreme courts of Illinois and other states. 

The early high schools were local in their origin and varied 
greatly in courses, standards, and methods. In many cases, the 
time v/as divided among so many subjects that efficiency in any 
was impossible. Oftentimes the teachers had no special prepa- 
ration for high school subjects, and wasted the time of the pupils 
by using methods suitable only for smaller children. In the early 
'nineties the need for greater uniformity in the courses offered 
and a reduction in the number of subjects studied at any one 
time became so evident that the National Educational Associa- 
tion appointed a committee, known as the " Committee of Ten," 
to arrange a number of standard courses and to recommend 
methods of teaching them. Although the detailed recommenda- 
tions cf this committee have not been in general followed, the 

7 



publication of its report, in 1893, marks the opening of anew 
period. As a result of the discussion of this report, three impor- 
tant practical reforms have gradually been adopted: First, the 
average high school student studies only four subjects at any one 
time; second, with one or two exceptions, each subject is studied 
for at least one year; third, instruction in each subject is offered 
by teachers especially qualified to teach that particular subject. 

Another field for reform lay in the fact that there was no 
supervision or inspection of secondary schools. As the high 
schools had grown up as the result of local initiative and were 
supported entirely by local taxes, the state hesitated for many 
years to interfere in any way with their local management. In 
fact, it has been only within the last ten years (^1896-1906) that 
there has been any considerable legislation on the subject. In 
the remainder of this paper we shall endeavor to describe the dif- 
ferent problems which gave rise to this state legislation, and then 
discuss the different policies adopted, with a view to the future 
policy of our state. In reviewing these efforts, one is struck with 
the lack of uniformity in the legislation of the different states. 
One state has experimented slong one line, the next common- 
wealth has proceeded in an entirely different direction, and so on 
through [h^ list. Only three or four states. New York, Wiscon- 
sin, Minnesota, and California, have dealt adequately with the 
subject. 

Ten years fgo nearly all the states in the Union left the initi- 
ation of high schools entirely to the localities, with the result that 
a large portion of population living in rural districts were entirely 
without high school facilities in their home neighborhood. The 
sparsity of the population, and particularly the school unit in vogue 
in many states, the district with its small population, rendered 
the establishment of high schools of any efficiency impossible. 
The deficiency was more important, as experience had shown, 
that the class thus denied high school privileges, the sons and 
daughters of the farmers, was the class, on the average, which 
prized education most highly and produced the largest number of 
social leaders. 

Two methods of grappling with this problem occurred to the 
school men of the country. The first was to fix the financial re- 



sponsibility of secondary education in the home district or town- 
ship, which must either provide the high school education at home 
or else pay the tuition fee of the pupil at some other high school. 
Massachusetts was the first state to inaugurate this plan. In the 
last few years the other states of New England — New York, Penn- 
sylvania and Wisconsin, have adopted the idea in their school 
codes. The Pennsylvania law, passed in 1905, may be taken as 
typical of this legislation. It reads as follows: 

" Permitting children, residing in school districts in which 
no public high school is maintained, to attend a high school in 
some other district, located near their homes, and providing for 
the payment of the cost of tuition and school books. 

" Section 1. Be it enacted, etc., That children, residing in 
school districts in which no public high school is maintained, may 
attend a high school in some other district, located near their 
homes; provided the consent of the directors of the district in 
which said high school is located be first obtained; the cost of 
tuition and school books, which shall not exceed that of the tui- 
tion and school books of children in the same grades or courses 
in the distjict maintaining such high school, shall be paid to the 
district receiving such children, out of the moneys raised by taxa- 
tion for public school purposes in the district in which said chil- 
dren reside; Provided, That, before admission to a high school, 
such pupils shall be examined and found qualified for high school 
•vork, by the principal of such high school." 

Such legislation, valuable as it undoubtedly is in providing 
secondary education for the exceptional pupil in very backwood 
and poor communities, falls far short of being an ultimate solu- 
tion of the problem, inasmuch as the tuition is only a small per- 
centage of the total expense, where the pupil boards away from 
home. Because of this fact, the great majority of country chil- 
dren would be debarred from high school privileges under ordina- 
ry conditions. Another objection to this plan is that, just in pro- 
portion as it is successful, it tends unduly to bring country chil- 
dren to town at an impressionable age, and would, therefore, in- 
crease that drift away from country life, which is one of the dis- 
couraging features of present day society. 

The next solution of the country high school problem is to 



organize larger units than the school district for high school pur- 
poses. Some states have already abolished the district entirely 
and substituted the township for school purposes. This move- 
ment, while undoubtedly sound for thickly settled Eastern and 
Middle-Western states, is impossible for the states of the far 
West, where distances would in many sections prevent the ad- 
ministration of a township system. The school laws of the 
great majority of the Western states permit districts to combine 
for high school purposes. The procedure in such cases is simple. 
A certain percentage of the voters in each district petition either 
the county superintendent or local board. Upon receiving this 
petition, the officials must call an election, the details of which 
are carefully specified. If the result of the election is favorable 
to the high school, another election must be held to elect a union 
board of high school directors. Those interested in this method 
of forming union high school districts will find in the appendix the 
legislation of California and Arizona on the subject, 

In each state where such legislation has been enacted, some 
few union high school districts have been successfully established 
and operated, but in the main the country population refuses to 
use the machinery which is thus placed in their hands. The 
reasons for this are probably two: First, the number of districts 
possible to combine is in most cases too small, not more than 
three or four. A small additional tax on the property in proposed 
union districts will not support a really efficient high school; a 
heavy tax, the people are not anxious to levy. Then again, to 
secure the proposed high school, much time must be spent by 
somebody in travelling about, answering questions and securing 
signatures to petitions. In the absence of some public-spirited 
person or persons to do this, the people, although well disposed 
toward high schools, fail to get together and organize. 

So that as long as conditions render the adoption of the' 
township for general school purposes out of the question in the 
states of the far West, better results can be obtained on the basis 
of organization by counties, the largest of our units of local gov- 
ernment. 

California, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and 
Texas report the enactment of laws for the organization of county 

10 



high schools. The procedure here is similar to that in the for- 
mation of union high school districts. A certain portion of the 
voters or tax-payers petition the county authorities, an election is 
held, if a majority favors the proposed high school the county 
board of supervisors levies the required taxes and appoints the 
first board of trustees for the high school. In Oregon, where the 
law has been in force five years, seven counties out of thirty- 
three have established county high schools. In all cases they 
have been counties with a small population, usually with only one 
considerable town in the county. Where there is a considerable 
population in a county, the towns and villages remote from the 
county seat have always, thus far, been strong enough to defeat 
the proposition, it is evident that the idea needs modification in 
the larger counties, so that instead of voting to establish a single 
school, a plan could be submitted providing four-year high schools 
in towns of considerable size, with two- and three-year high 
schools in important village centers. The situation calls not for 
one strong institution, but for a county system of high schools. 

In many small communities, the essential problem is not to 
establish high schools, for the ambition of the people insists on 
founding them regardless of resDurces, but in securing sound work 
in the struggling schools already established. County superinten- 
dents all know towns which expect the principal of a three- room 
common school to teach, in addition, most of the subjects of a 
high school course. For the sake of ten or twelve pupils in the 
secondary stage of instruction, the training of forty or fifty chil- 
dren in the grammar grades is sacrificed. Under such condi- 
tions, the influence of an outside authority is undoubtedly needed. 
As the structure of our school system is extremely loose, it is 
difficult for an outside authority to exert much influence unless it 
has some means of reaching the schools financially. The grant- 
ing of special appropriations for high schools is, therefore, per- 
haps the most significant step thus far taken in the control of. high 
schools. 

In all the states, pupils attending high schools draw their rel- 
ative share of the common school funds. Besides this, special 
appropriations for high schools have been made in the states of 
California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, 



New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode 
Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The sums voted vary 
all the way from $590,000 in New York, and $217,000 in Min- 
nesota, to $8,000 in New Hampshire, the average amount being 
in the neighborhood of $50,000 per year. 

The value of the appropriations depends, to a considerable 
degree, not only on their amount, but also on the method of dis- 
tribution adopted. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Ver- 
mont, endeavor to afford the largest amount of aid to the weakest 
communities. Thus, in Massachusetts, " any town having less 
than five hundred families and having a valuation of less than 
$750,000 is entitled to receive from the treasury of the common- 
wealth all necessary amounts actually expended for the mainte- 
nance of pupils in approved high schools. Towns whose valua- 
tion exceeds $750,000, but whose number of families is less than 
five hundred, are entitled to receive from the treasury half of all 
necessary amounts expended, for high school tuition in approved 
high schools. Towns of less than five hundred families, main- 
taining a high school of their own, and whose course and equip- 
ment are approved by the state board of education, and employ- 
ing at least two teachers, are entitled to receive annually from the 
state treasury $300 for the support of the high school." In New 
Hampshire and Vermont, the tax rate is made the criterion, all 
towns taxing themselves beyond a certain limit are entitled to 
support from the state. 

The V/estern states apportion the same amount of financial 
aid to all high schools, regardless of community wealth or neces- 
sities. Wisconsin grants each high school one-half the cost of 
instruction up to the limit of five hundred dollars. Minnesota is 
more liberal and appropriates $1,500 to each school. North Da- 
kota and Pennsylvania discriminate between three- and four-year 
high schools, granting larger sums to the latter. In both states 
the four-year schools receive $800 and the three-year $600. 
Pennsylvania also appropriates $400 to the two-year high schools, 
a policy the wisdom of which is open to some question. 

New York has enacted a much more complex system of 
high school support than any of the foregoing commonwealths. 
Firstly, $100 is appropriated to all the high schools of the state; 

12 



this amounts to $70,000 a year; then the state duplicates all 
sums which the high schools have spent for laboratory and library 
equipment. Last year $120,000 covered this item. In addition 
to these, the state appropriated $250,000 to the secondary schools 
on the basis of attendance, and $150,000 to the more sparsely 
settled country districts, enabling them to pay the tuition of their 
high school pupils away from home. 

The granting of state aid enables the state authority to deter- 
mine the standard of high school efficiency, below which no 
moneywill.be granted. California and Minnesota provide that 
each state-aided high school shall establish at least one course 
admitting to the state university. The following regulations 
passed by the New Jersey board of education are typical of the 
stricter system of control now adopted by many states. The rules 
are for "approved" or four-year high schools. Special regula- 
tions were also adopted for "partial " or three-year high schools. 

(66) In order to be approved, a high school must meet 
the following conditions; 

(A) It must have at least one course of study, approved 
by the state board of education, covering four full years of school 
work. 

( B ) The teaching and equipment must be approved by the 
state board of education. 

(C) The teaching force must be adequate in number, and 
shall, in every case, consist of at least three teachers, each of 
whom shall be engaged exclusively in high school work. 

( D ) Diplomas shall be granted only to pupils who shall 
have completed a full four (4) years course, aggregating at least 
seventy-t\vo (72) academic counts. The counts shall be reck- 
oned in accordance with the number of recitations per week of a 
school year of at least 38 weeks, and the recitation periods shall 
average at least 40 minutes. 

The systems of financial aid are yet, in most cases, so new 
that it is impossible to determine their exact results. The effects 
are confined to the smaller communities. The larger towns and 
cities do not need the money, and value still less the supervision. 
Dr. F. E. Bolton, of the University of Iowa, who has written an 
able article, " Special State Aid to High Schools," in the Edu 

13 



cational Review, February, 1906, has collected a large mass of 
expert testimony from school men of experience supporting the 
policy of financial aid. A striking example of the influence which 
support can create is found in Virginia, as described by the state 
superintendent. " The success of the high school act has been 
phenomenal. The $50,000 appropriation by the state has been 
supplemented to the extent or at least $200,000 by local high 
school funds and voluntary contributions, and nearly one hundred 
fifty high schools have been established in Virginia during the past 
six months." 

The states have worked out several different plans of super- 
vising and inspecting high schools. In a majority of the states of 
the South and West, it is performed by the representatives of the 
state university. Sometimes this is distinctly provided for in the 
school law, as in California, but it is usually done by the univer- 
sities on their own initiative and for their own ends. Exceptions 
to this general policy are Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, New 
York, and Wisconsin, which provide special high school inspec- 
tors under the control of the state department of education, or a 
special high school board, as in Minnesota. A few states try to 
control the staridard of the high schools through an elaborate system 
of written reports without inspection. If rigidly enforced, such a 
system has value, but it can never be an adequate substitute for 
actual visitation and supervision. 

In the past the state universities have performed, in many 
states, a distinct service for the high schools in insisting on a 
better quality of teaching. Frequeritly theirs was the only influ- 
ence available. As a permanent policy, however, it may be ques- 
tioned whether the interests of society are likely to be promoted 
by intrusting the shaping of any educational institution to another 
institution which has its own selfish and distinct ends to serve. 
This theoretical distrust is strengthened by the knowledge that in 
a few states the universities have actually abused their authority, 
by refusing to accredit work done by graduates of other universi- 
ties, and in sacrificing the mental development of the high school 
student to the technical requirements for university courses. The 
university demands are frequently framed by men who have no 
acquaintance with high school conditions, and no other ideal in 

14 



education than the prosperity of their own particular department 
of study. As a temporary stimulus, university inspection is use- 
ful; as a permanent policy it tends to submerge the original pur- 
pose of the high school. 

To place the important function of inspecting high schools in 
the hands of men acquainted only with the conditions and meth- 
ods of elementary schools would be a much more serious mis- 
take, because the high schools have been so recently emanci- 
pated from the dominion of elementary ideals and methods, that 
a reversion to these must be constantly guarded against. The 
nearest approach to a balance of these divergent interests is found 
in the plan devised by Minnesota, where the high schools are con- 
trolled by a board consisting of the state superintendent of educa- 
tion, the president of the state university, the president of the 
state board of normal school directors, one other superintendent, 
and one person appointed by the governor. This board has entire 
control of the schools and appoints a state high school inspector, 
who has the actual administration of the schools. 

Another tendency in the direction of centralization takes the 
form of state high school courses of study, which are now found 
in twenty-eight states. In two-thirds of these the course is merely 
advisory in character; in the other one-third it is mandatory. As 
a matter of fact, nearly all the smaller communities use the high 
school course as a guide, regardless of its legal status, while the 
cities arrange their courses without much reference to it. With 
the exception of Louisiana and Montana, which have three-year 
courses, all the other states provide for a course four years in 
length. The newer high school courses of study favor great flex- 
ibility, which is secured either by a number of parallel courses or 
a list of options. Many of the states publish high school manuals, 
which furnish detailed instructions as to method and subject mat- 
ter. These, together with the courses of study, have very largely 
standardized secondary education in the last few years, so that an 
observer is able to determine just how much work in any course 
a student should have done in a given length of time. The high 
school course for the state of Washington, printed below, will give 
the reader an excellent example of a subject schedule of the newer 
type. The long list of options in the last column of the table 
would only be possible in a large city high school. The commer- 
cial course would also be omitted in many schools. 

15 



The same lack of uniformity, visible elsewhere in this field, 
is evident in the certification of high school teachers. Some 
states have no legislation on the subject, so that anyone may teach 
in high schools without any legal guarantee of fitness. Many 
other states compel high school teachers to pass examinations 
intended for elementary teachers; others permit any college grad- 
uate, regardless of subjects or qualifications, to teach, upon the 
basis of a college degree. In Indiana, which has one of the best 
defined laws on this subject, the candidate for a high school cer- 
tificate must prepare himself on both the academic side (subjects 
taught in high school), and on a list of professional subjects, 
which includes psychology, school management, principles of edu- 
cation, and school law. A college diploma entitles the holder to 
an exemption from the academic, but not from the professional, 
examination. In California, Kansas, Michigan, and other states, 
a college graduate who has passed with credit a certain number 
of courses in the department of pedagogy, receives a high school 
certificate. 

At one time, most of the high school teachers of the country 
were grade teachers of unusual ability and industry, who had 
worked their way upward by private study, tested by examinations. 
Of late, in the most progressive communities, college and uni- 
versity graduates have largely taken the places formerly held by 
the promoted grade teachers. The change has been salutary, as 
far as scholarship, thoroughness of teaching, and intelligence, are 
concerned; but in the art of managing and controlling pupils, the 
new teachers have, in the main, been inferior to the old. 

Owing to this state of affairs, a number of the stronger nor- 
mal schools have begun a systematic campaign to displace uni- 
versity graduates, and to substitute their own alumni as teachers 
in high schools. This movement has been of essential service in 
indicating the chief weakness of university graduates as teachers, 
viz., their lack of acquaintance with teaching technique and de- 
vices. By spending a small sum of money in the establishment 
of practice high schools, the universities can easily remedy this 
defect. On the other hand, the equipment and limited teaching 
staff of the normal schools forbid competition with the universities 
in the field of scholarship and scientific method. 

17 



High school certificates should never be general in charac- 
ter, but should be good only in a single subject or group of sub- 
jects. No person in four or five years beyond the high school 
can qualify himself adequately to teach the entire high school 
curriculum. Close specialization in a single subject would be im- 
possible for one who expected to work in the country high schools, 
but at least the division of subjects into the mathematical, scien- 
tific, and historical-linguistic groups, could be made, as no high 
school should exist with less than two teachers. Just so long as 
the general certificates are issued, just that long will secondary 
teachers be at the mercy of the whims of school boards and prin- 
cipals who will compel them to teach any subject on the list. 



18 



A STATISTICAL STUDY OF 

FOUR- YEAR HIGH SCHOOLS 

^ ^ IN OREGON ^ ^ 



GEORGE W. HUG 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

In making a study of the high schools of the State of Ore- 
gon, great difficulty was encountered in securing a complete re- 
port of the conditions as they really are. Complete statistics 
could not be secured from some of the schools, and no report 
could be secured from some districts. 

Circular letters including blank forms to be filled out were 
sent to every high school in the state. A second circular, urging 
the necessity of filling out these blank forms, was sent some time 
after the first. As a result, most of the high schools replied. The 
three- and four-year high schools responded more readily than 
those with one and two grades. Personal letters were also sent 
to some J the more important high schools. Nineteen out of 
twenty-three four-year high schools responded, either with a com- 
plete or partial report. About one-half of the three-year high 
schooL rcspDnded. Some of the two year schools reported, while 
the numbr.r of one-year schools reporting was very small. On 
this account, our study in this article is confined to the nineteen 
four-year high schools. 

Inf .r;i!^tion was secured relating to the time of organization, 
length of course, the number of graduates since the establishment 
of the high school, the number of graduates in the year 1905, and 
also the number of college preparatory students. The number of 
students and teachers in each high school, the average number of 
pupils to the teacher, and the place of preparation of each teach- 
er, were complete in almost every case. The number of sub- 
jects taught in each high school, the number of pupils studying 
each subject, were filled out very completely by all who sent in 
reports. In all cases relating to students and teachers, a classifi- 
cation was made into male and female divisions. The number of 
books in the libraries of each school was given in nearly all in- 
stances. A rather incomplete account was given of the value of 
grounds, buildings, apparatus, and furniture. The amount of ap- 
propriation obtained by each school was too unsatisfactory to be 
useful. The tuition for non-resident students was given in nearly 
all instances. The work, as a whole, is somewhat incomplete, 
but it is hoped that there may be some valuable information. 

Author. 

21 



HIGH SCHOOL ORGANIZATION IN OREGON 

The organization of high schools in Oregon dates back as far 
as 1890, when the high school at Ashland >vas organized. From 
then on high schools have been organized from time to time. 
Out of twenty-three four-year high schools, four did not report 
at all, leaving nineteen reporting. From these nineteen, four did 
not know the time of their organization. The remaining fifteen 
gave the following report. Ashland, 1890; Baker City, 1891; Cot- 
tage Grove, 1896; Eugene, LaGrande, and Springfield, 1897; 
Pendleton, 1898; Astoria, 1900; Roseburg, 1901; Prineville and 
Tillamook, 1902; Burns and Salem, 1904; Gresham and Wood- 
burn, 1905; Grants Pass, Medford, and Portland, did not give the 
time of organization. The above figures show that the high 
schools of Oregon have had a steady and uniform growth. 

High schools maybe organized as ( 1 ) district high schools 
(2) city high schools, (3) county high schools, or (4) high 
schools as an extension of the grammar grades. Out of nineteen 
reporting, three were organized as district high schools, four as 
city high schools, four as county high schools, and seven as ex- 
tensions of the grammar grades. Two did not report on organ- 
ization. It was discovered that the oldest high schools were or- 
ganized under the extension of the grammar grade law. The city 
and the district high schools are of more recent origin, while the 
county high schools have been just recently organized, and all in- 
dications show that they will be organized throughout the state. 

Twelve four-year high schools reported the number of gradu- 
ates since establishment. Portland, Cottage Grove, Eugene, 
Grants Pass, and Medford, did not report. Salem and Burns have 
had no graduates. The remainder reported 334 males and 500 
females, making a total of 834 graduates since establishment. 
Taking this as a basis, the relation of male and female graduates 
is 40 and 60 per cent. 

All schools reported their graduates in 1905, except Wood- 

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burn, the number of boys being 1 17 and the number of girls 21 1, 
making a total of 328. a ratio of 35.5 to 64.5 per cent, of boys to 
girls. Several schools reported the number of college preparatory 
students, but no definite conclusion can be had, except that the 
percentage of boys to girls increases. The relation of boys to 
girls, from the figures secured, show a relation of 53 to 47 per 
cent. We see from this that girls are not so much inclined to 
attend college as are boys. 

Seventeen four-year high schools reported the number of 
students in their school. The total number reached 3,117 — 
1,262 boys and 1,855 girls. This shows that about one-third of 
the total number of students are boys. Portland is first, with 559 
boys and 893 girls, making in all 1,452 students. Eugene comes 
second, with 131 boys and 174 girls, showing a total of 305. Sa- 
lem ranks third, with 120 boys and 135 girls, in all 255. Baker 
City is fourth, with 88 boys and 85 girls, making a total of 173. 
Pendleton did not report. The Dalles has 126 students, Ashland 
108, Roseburg 106, Astoria 103. The remainder are under the 
100 mark. LaGrande has 90 students. 

The number of teachers varies from two to thirty-two. 
Portland leads, with thirty-two teachers. Eugene has nine, Sa- 
lem seven, Baker City and Pendleton six each, while the others 
range from two to four teachers each. The average number of 
students to the teacher varies from fourteen to forty-five; but the 
average number of students to the teacher in most of the schools 
ranges from t\venty to thirty, the general average being twenty- 
six and two-thirds. 

Inquiry was made as to where the high school teachers were 
prepared for their work. One hundred and eight teachers are 
employed in the nineteen four-year high schools reporting. The 
place of preparation of sixty-four teachers was secured. Of the 
remaining forty-four, thirty-two were from Portland and the other 
twelve were scattered throughout the state. Out of sixty-four 
teachers, twenty-five were prepared in Oregon, while the remain- 
ing thirty-nine received their education in other states. Of those 
prepared in the state, ten are from the University of Oregon, 
three each from Willamette University, McMinnville College, and 
the Ashland Normal, two from Monmouth Normal, one from the 

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Oregon Agricultural College, and three from other places in the 
state. Of the thirty-nine teachers that were prepared out of the 
state, three each are from Ohio Wesleyan University and Iowa 
Wesleyan College, two each from Stanford University, University 
of California, Oberlin College, and Colorado State Normal, one 
each from Whitman College, Illinois Wesleyan, University of 
Missouri, Parsons College, University of Michigan, University of 
Arizona, University of South Dakota, Western University, Brock- 
ville College, University of Pennsylvania. Puget Sound Univer- 
sity, Wellesly, Smith, and Elmira. Eleven were prepared in other 
places, either small colleges, normals, or high schools. It may 
be seen that the high school teachers of Oregon are well prepared 
for their work. Most of them have either a college education or 
a normal school training, and in a great many cases it was found 
that some teachers had both a normal school and college educa- 
tion. 

The average number of subjects taught in the high school is 
thirteen. Some have only ten subjects, while others have as 
many as seventeen. Latin, English, Algebra, and History, are 
taught in all the nineteen four-year high schools reporting. Geom- 
etry, Rhetoric, and Physical Geography, are taught in all except 
one; Botany and Physics in all but four. German and Civics are 
taught in eleven out of the nineteen high schools; Geology in ten; 
Higher Arithmetic in nine; Physiology and Bookkeeping in eight; 
Chemistry in six; Trigonometry in four; Zoology in three; Eco- 
nomics and Greek in two; and Astronomy in one. Business courses 
are also given in some of the high schools. 

The number of students taking each of the following subjects 
are: Latin, 1,453; English, 2,650; Algebra, 2,296; History, 
2,179; Geometry, 1,053; Rhetoric, 1,219; Physical Geography, 
1.001; Botany, 308; Physics, 497; German, 664; Civics, 383; 
Geology, 119; Higher Arithmetic, 103; Physiology, 529; Book- 
keeping, 231; Chemistry, 298; Trigonometry, 39; Zoology, 38; 
Economics, 11; Greek, 21; Astronomy, 23; Psychology, 2. 

It may be well to state the high schools in which some of 
the more advanced studies are taught. Psychology is taught in 
the Medford high school; Greek at LaGrande and Prineville: 
Economics at Cottage Grove and Springfield; Astronomy at Rose- 

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burg; Zoology at Cottage Grove, Springfield and Portland; Trigo- 
nometry at Ashland, Astoria and Portland; Chennistry at Astoria, 
Baker City, Medford, Pendleton, Portland, and Salem. 

Most of the high schools reported the number of copies in 
their libraries. Portland has the largest, with 1,740 volumes. 
Roseburg and LaOrande have 1 ,000 volumes each. The remain- 
der average from a few copies to 600. 

The average value of the grounds of the four-year high 
schools is from $1,000 to $3,000. The buildings range from 
$10,000 to $75,000. Tuition for non-resident students is paya- 
ble by the month, term, or year, according to the regulations of 
the various schools. Twenty dollars per year is the general av- 
erage. 



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